Fall is one of my favorite seasons. It’s so beautiful. The weather is perfect for being out and enjoying it.

But summer has fall outranked when it comes to food. (Although, cinnamon and apples….mmmm…..) Summer is full of crisp salads, fresh Georgia peaches, lemonade, ice cream, and sweet strawberries. I think the best way to describe summer foods is fresh. And you can’t get better than that!

This strawberry shortcake milkshake combines two of my favorite summer desserts in to one amazing milkshake. Seriously, this is summer in a glass. Just know, it’s so good and so amazing that you will want to make these all the time! Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

If you asked me to tell you my dream summer day it would be laying on the beach with a glass of mango lemonade. (There may or may not be a shot of rum and a paper umbrella in it!) This recipe is sweet, tangy, tropical and completely refreshing.

While I may not have a beach to lay on my perfect summer day can at least have a glass of mango lemonade!

Core and cut your pineapple. (I swear bythis pineapple corer! I can cut and core a pineapple in 30 seconds with it and it makes sure that nothing goes to waste.)

Put pineapple in a bowl add the ½ C agave. Stir ingredients and allow to sit for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Puree the pineapple with agave until all of the chunks are gone. (The pureed pineapple will last for about 2 days if kept in a refrigerator. You can also fill an ice cube tray with the puree pineapple to add to your next pitcher of Pineapple Lemonade.)

Pour the other ½ C of agave into a large pitcher. Add the cold water and fresh lemon juice.

Stir well to blend.

Pour ⅓rd of the pureed pineapple into the pitcher. Stir well. Add ice to the pitcher.

Stir the Pineapple Lemonade again before pouring into individual glasses with ice in each.

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Summer and lemonade go together like peanut butter and jelly. Cool, refreshing and delicious, I definitely don’t complain when the kid’s lemonade stands start to line our street.

This year we participated in Lemonade Day for Indianapolis. Lemonade Day is a really awesome organization that helps to teach kids about entrepreneur skills and running their own business. Kids are in charge of their own business and can even create letters or movies to get investors to help with their start up costs.

A photo posted by Amanda (@itsafabulouslifeblog) on May 30, 2015 at 9:38am PDT

Joshua’s lemonade stand was called Pups For Cups. While kids are in charge of how they spend their money that they raise in their lemonade stand, Josh wanted to donate his money to the animal rescue that we got our dog Lincoln from. Lemonade Day is a program that is available in many cities across the country! I really encourage you to check it out for your kids for next year! Indianapolis makes Lemonade Day a big deal! Our city created so many wonderful events to encourage the kids!

A photo posted by Amanda (@itsafabulouslifeblog) on May 30, 2015 at 9:13am PDT

Josh has taken his lemonade stand to the next level. He really wanted to raise as much money as he could for Bright Hope Pet Rescue. He’s sold t-shirts and while Lemonade Day is over, he still has been selling! One of Joshua’s secrets is flavored lemonades. This fresh peach lemonade is a top seller!

Summer time is HERE! We have been counting down the days until summer vacation for a while around here and now that it is…..we plan on fully enjoying it! Trips to the pool, farmer’s markets, summer vacations, and lazy days are all in our summer forecast. We want to enjoy these few months and make sure that each day feels like summer.

Right down to the food we are eating.

Luckily, there are so many recipes that taste like summer. Here are over 40 of our favorite summertime recipes.

Looking for more fun summer recipes?

What we love about summer cooking:

“We LOVE summertime at our house. We do a lot of outdoor entertaining in our backyard which means grilling, cool treats and lots of laughter with friends. Both Mike and I love to experiment with new recipes and flavor combinations, especially during the warm summer months.”

“We have a pretty big extended family and we have a ton of get togethers in the summertime. Lots of birthdays, and then of course there’s Father’s Day and the 4th of July. Always entertaining, playing games, swimming and eating good food! Summertime food for me means quick and easy (usually involving the grill!)”

“Summer for me is all about easy and fresh food. And also, if we can keep the oven turned off that’s an added bonus! So our slow cooker goes into overdrive. A typical summer meal might be some BBQ, corn on the cob (I do live in Indiana after all), fruit salad and some ice cream!”

Amanda is the mom to Joshua and owns It’s a Fabulous Life. If you are looking for a one stop place for all things mom, It’s a Fabulous Life is it! Full of recipes, fashion, DIY projects, recipes and parenting articles it’s the place for all of Mom’s favorites to come together! Follow her on Twitter here!

What about you?

What does summer taste like for you? Let us know and be sure to use #MomsCheckIn on social media with your answers!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock the you know that the new Marvel Avengers: Age of Ultron has just come out in theaters. We have been so excited at our house! The past week we have been watching the original Avengers movie as well as Captain America, Thor, The Hulk, and Iron Man.

Well, you can’t have a movie night without having some festive snacks! This week we have made some fun and festive snacks that you can easily make yourself to celebrate the new Avengers: Age of Ultron movie or for an Avengers party!

Captain America Shield Shortcake

This cake is a breeze to make! One thing that I love about Meijer is the awesome produce section! It’s the first thing that I notice when I walk into their store and I’m a sucker for strawberries so I knew that I wanted to take advantage of them.

You will need:

A round shortcake

Cool whip

Strawberries

Blueberries

Sugar

Place a star cookie cutter on a plate. Spoon some Cool Whip into the cookie cutter and place the plate into the freezer. This will help it set.

Wash your fruit. Slice the strawberries and add a bit of sugar. Let the sugar soak in. Meanwhile, let the rest of the Cool Whip thaw.

Fill the center of the cake with strawberries so you are able to create an even surface. Spread the Cool Whip on top of the cake as you would frost a cake with frosting.

Arrange a layer of cut strawberries around the outside edge. In the center add a circle of blueberries. To finish off your shield shortcake, take your star cookie cutter out. Press the Cool Whip out and place the star on top of the blueberries.

A shortcake made for an Avenger!

Hulk Pudding Cups:

This next snack was a huge hit! In the comics (and movies) Bruce Banner has an alter ego named the Hulk. He changes from man to well, all Hulk-y. So we decided to transform our pudding cups!

You will need:

Vanilla pudding cups (we used the Meijer brand)

Green food coloring

Chocolate frosting (I bought the tube that copes with the different tips. We used the star tip for the hair.)

A sharpie

Give your child a vanilla pudding cup. Have them add a few drops of green food coloring and mix it up. Bruce Banner will change into the Hulk right before their eyes! Then, top with some frosting hair and using the marker draw a ‘Hulk, Angry” face on your pudding cup.

Iron Man Inspired Drinks:

We couldn’t leave out Iron Man! In the drink section at Meijer there are so many choices! I purchased several bottles of Sparkling Ice drinks in reds, yellows and oranges. Simply freeze in ice cube trays. You can add to Sprite or even just water for a little flavor!

These are just 3 easy ideas that you can use to celebrate the Avengers: Age of Ultron! And to help kick off the new movie, Meijer has graciously given us a great prize pack to giveaway! You will get: 3 large plush Avengers characters (Iron Man, the Hulk, and Captain America), an Avengers blanket, an Avengers action figurine, 2 boxes of Avengers cereal, Avengers fruit snacks, and 2 tickets to see the new Avengers: Age of Ultron movie! WOW!!

Hot Chocolate is a favorite each winter. We love to have a cup for dessert or as a snack after playing outside. And when it is snowing, you can find me curled up on the couch with a cup and my favorite book. While I love a cup of traditional, chocolate-y, creamy hot cocoa sometimes I’m looking for a little variety. This Hot Chocolate Bucket List is full of the best hot chocolate recipes out there!

If you handed this cup to me, at first I would probably tell you that it was too pretty to drink. But I think after staring at the caramel hot chocolate(and smelling it!) I don’t think it would take long for me to give into temptation!

This White Hot Chocolate has me dreaming of a snow fall! I absolutely love watching the snow come down while curled up with a cup of cocoa on the couch!

I love Girl Scout cookies! Combining my love for the cookies and my love for cocoa seems like a wonderful idea to me! I’m so glad Your Home Based Mom has a recipe for Thin Mint Hot Chocolate!

I could stare at this. Doesn’t it look amazing?! S’mores Hot Chocolate really seems like a dream come true to me!

Joshua’s favorite thing is peanut butter. He loves it on his toast, his waffles, and in his hot chocolate! I can’t wait to try this Peanut Butter Cup Hot Chocolate recipe out! I’m sure he will love it!

If Christmas had a flavor it would have to be peppermint. I think one taste of this peppermint hot chocolate and you will be dreaming of Christmas!

How many of these hot chocolate recipes will you cross off the bucket list this winter?

November already?! Can you believe it? I can’t that is for sure! It’s Monday which means another Holiday Survival Guide. This week we are talking about yummy fall recipes to try. We also have last week’s link up results!

We’re going to get you decluttered, organized, cleaned, decorated, and ready for all the holiday fun…without you needing to be committed to the looney bin before New Year’s.

It takes quite the team to pull this off, but we’re here for you! We’ll be here every Monday through the end of the year to make sure you’re on track and able to enjoy everything you have planned.

Each week we’ll take turns bringing you something awesome to help you stay on track preparing for the major Holidays of the season. Be sure to come back and link up your holiday posts each week so we can share the fun!

This shop has been compensated by #Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.

I have a few favorite things in the world. One of them is fruity drinks. I have perfected the BEST fruit tea. Seriously, I make it all the time! I bring it with us to get togethers and everyone always asks me for the recipe. Some people are known for their lasagna; some people are known for their chocolate cake. Me? I’m known for my fruit tea! Whether you are looking for a way to spruce up your water or something to drink while you are trying to ditch the soda or even just looking for something delicious – this is the perfect drink!!

The other day I was in Walmart and saw a Crystal Light display and it dawned on me that I have not shared this with you yet! And the timing couldn’t be better because Crystal Light is sponsoring the Miranda Lambert Platinum Tour and rewarding customers with a #PlatinumTour Sweepstakes!!

What is the Platinum Points Loyalty Program? Simple create an account, purchase qualifying Crystal Light products at Walmart and scan your receipt. You will start earning your points! You can redeem your points for some really awesome prizes! At the end of the program they will be selecting one winner for an amazing sweepstakes prize!

For me, I will be able to earn lots of points! We go through a lot of a Crystal Light! :)

I always keep packages of Peach Iced Tea in my purse to add to my water while I’m out and about! Crystal Light makes it so easy to have a low calorie drink that tastes amazing. There are so many varieties available at Walmart. Plus, now with their new Platinum Rewards Program, it’s really a no brainer!

So first I need to give a little background on why I chose to make a chocolate smoothie yesterday.

First of all. My son is the most amazing kid ever. But he is an incredibly picky eater. He will not eat vegetables (I can get him to eat a few salad ‘leaves’ with a gallon of Ranch. So I’m not sure how much good that really does..) He doesn’t do fruit either, with the exception of bananas. And you can’t put bananas in, say, bread. He won’t touch it. So meals are a STRUGGLE at our house. So, I thought I would be genius. Really. I was so proud of myself. Smoothies! And I would sneak in fruit and veggies. But I know my child. And I know that he would never voluntarily eat a smoothie. So we needed to start small.

He loves chocolate milkshakes (no whip cream and no cherry of course!) So I thought to myself…a chocolate smoothie! And I would add some fruit. And he would never know. See? Genius.

Or not. (And yes, my son loves his Tru-Moo!)

But it was really good! I promise! I’ve made it a few times!

There are only a few ingredients which makes it super easy. It’s great for a sweet treat.

I also have to introduce you to my blender. Her name is Betty. Betty Blendtec.

Seriously. This thing is amazing! Blendtec makes an awesome blender! I love that it is touch screen (how high tech!) and even more so how this thing is a beast! Seriously, you can make anything with it!! Highly recommend it!